Proud as a peacock

It's my turn to set the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week - I'd like to see projects inspired by the beauty of the peacock. It could be an image of the bird itself, a beautiful "eye" feather or just the gorgeous colours applied to other images.

I decided to combine with the current challenge at Let's Squash It which is asking us to create some white space while we're embossing and add some bling. 

This peacock feather is slap bang in the middle of the folder - it makes a lovely dramatic focal point but leaves little flexibility for anything else.

I managed to position a card front in the folder so that the feather is on one side, leaving plenty of flat real estate for a good-size sentiment. The slot at the top of the folder is helpful as you can angle the card by letting a corner poke through.

The feather is coloured with several media, all of which have metallic or iridescent finishes which don't really show up on the photo - please use your imagination to supply peacock sheen! My go to tiny gems add a bit extra bling.

Stamps:
Putting on the Ritz (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine (Onyx Black)

Other:
Peacock feather folder (Darice)
Metallic pencils
Metallic markers
Perfect Pearls
Spica glitter pen (Turquoise)
Nail art gems

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Link in the chain - April

It’s reveal day once again over at Card Chain Challenge - my how time flies! My card has gone to Nelleke in the Netherlands this time. 

From the options on offer I chose the sketch and the colour palette (oh, I used a die cut too!). I did try for a one layer card but I couldn’t get the embossing quite as I wanted it so I ended up cutting the embossed panel (with four “planks” to reflect the sketch) and sticking it to a card base. I used a fineline marker around the edge. The butterfly was stamped, coloured and cut out, the leaf sprig is die cut and coloured with a couple of Copics and the whole lot is assembled with some gel glue.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings, Say It All (both Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Walnut Stain)

Other:
Pinewood planks embossing folder (Stampin Up)
Back to Nature dies (Sizzix, I suspect they're retired)
Copic markers
White crochet cotton
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Brown fineliner

Vellum

Dawn has set the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week. She says she finds vellum tricky to work with so she'd like to see some ideas.

My instinct with vellum is to go for soft and pretty so I decided to challenge myself a bit extra and see if I could do something more masculine. I ended up using it as an overlay to tone down a busy background to make more of a feature of a sentiment. 

I couldn't actually find my vellum so I used a sheet of heavyweight tracing paper - this is some that has draughstman's markings on it so I kept that part as a sort of base line for my piece.

The age old question of how to attach vellum is solved here by wrapping it round the panel and sticking to the back . I also added a few dots of glue and then used black enamel dots to hide those spots.

The background has been in my scraps box for years - it was part of a masterboard for resist techniques but I stand little chance of remembering what was on it - spray inks, acrylic paint, white embossing powder and gesso at a guess! 

Stamps:
Numbers border (Kaisercraft)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Message (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Black
Mixed media piece from scraps box
Heavyweight tracing paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukieko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)

Thanks for stopping by!

Book lover

Svenja has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today - she’d like to see us celebrating books and reading. 

I fully intended not to use the little reader again having used the stamp for a recent dare but in the end just couldn’t resist! I did change things up a bit by adding some hand drawn pigtails. I found a piece of book text with finger-painted circles in a box of bits and used that as my background. I added a bit of Picked Raspberry ink over the open text areas and a strip of washi tape for grounding. 

I decided the reader needed to stand out a bit more against the busy background so I added some vellum circles just to tone it down slightly behind her. 

Stamps:
Story of Me (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Old book page with acrylic painted circles
Vellum

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (Picked Raspberry)

Other:
Washi tape
Copic markers
Black fineliner
Large circle squeeze punch by Fiskars
Pinflair gel glue

Thanks for stopping by!

Nature walk

With the early morning light bathing everything in a soft glow, Molly set off along the woodland path, enjoying the sunbeams slanting through the gently swaying leaves. At the top of the cliffs, a single perfect feather lay across the path, pointing to the beach. Smiling quietly, Molly followed its suggestion, snaking through the dunes. High tide had left a jumble of shells on the sand, each glistening with highlights of gold as the sun climbed higher in the sky. 

Molly’s nature walk was prompted by the current challenge at Let’s Squash It - use at least three embossing folders and a person. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, just the sounds of surf and gulls!

For some reason the Pumice Stone ink has come out looking rather blotchy in the photo, it’s much smoother in real life, honest!

Stamps:
Molly (Beeswax Stamps)
Landscape sentiments (HobbyCraft)

Paper:
Bristol board
Strathmore toned grey

Ink:
Hero Arts Shadow ink (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Pumice Stone)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Fallen Leaves embossing folder (Sizzix)
Shell Beauty embossing folder (Spellbinder)
Feather Duo die/embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Tomato paste tube 
Enchanted gold wax (Cosmic Shimmer)

Thanks for joining me and Molly on our nature walk! If you fancy rising to the challenge and dusting off multiple folders, here's the challenge link

 

Got your number

I’d had the intention to make a card with the bingo embossing and the '50s style ladies for the current challenge at Lost Coast (where the theme is numbers) but hadn’t been getting round to it. The latest challenge at Let’s Squash It to use at least three folders and a person gave me the extra push to do it before the deadline when I hit on this idea for combining. 

The bingo card became the backdrop for the sassy pair and I took inspiration from Gail’s Technique Time post and embossed three scraps with the other two folders - circular scraps in this case. The birthday sentiment is already a circle and I put two other circles into a folder that has lots of circles on it. Pearl dots seemed to be in keeping with both the circle thing  and the '50s feel. I even gave the top lady a pearl  earring!

I initially planned to sand the bingo card having painted white card with black acrylic paint but I wasn’t getting quite as much contrast as I wanted so I ended up using silver wax on it. 

This was a fun make, even if the end result isn’t very “me”!

Stamps:
Tea and Coffee, Cherish Alphabet (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Bingo and Retro Circle embossing folders (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Happy Birthday embossing folder (set of four small folders by Sizzix)
Copic markers
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Black acrylic paint 

  

Celebrating bees!

Shabneez has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to hear it for the bees! They're fantastic little creatures and so many things in the modern environment pose a threat to them, I'm happy to have any excuse to celebrate bees.

Some bees have something called a "waggle dance" - they use it to "talk" to their hive mates and tell them the direction and distance to go for patches of pollen. I thought dancing bees might well be celebrating!

I was lazy and used the die as a stencil rather than cutting one - I think it worked OK for this kind of slightly grungy look. I splattered over the inking with gold paint for a hint of honey!

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Mixed Media 1 dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Copic markers
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Gansai Tambi Starry Colour paints
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

April elements and a link in the chain!

It’s the first Friday of a new month so it’s an elemental challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. Jenny is providing our inspiration picture this month - as ever, just choose at least three elements from it to kickstart your project. 

I chose a typewriter, script writing, hearts and the word “love” to make a clean and simple card. I added a touch of Glossy Accents to the tiny wee die cut hearts and used glue gel under the typewriter so it has just a bit of lift. The GA proved very reflective when I did the photo this morning!With hindsight I think I’d have been happier without the grey inking along the base of the card but you live and learn!

Stamps:
On the Desk (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Sarah’s Choice (Indigo Blu)

Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Red

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Confetti die (Mama Elephant)
Pinflair gel glue
Corner Chomper
Glossy Accents by Ranger

It's also reveal day over at Card Chain Challenge - my card went to Renate in The Netherlands this time. 

From the options on offer for March I chose the colour scheme of flamingo pink, sea green and sunshine yellow (I don't think I'd have ever put these together without prompting), women and friendship. Simple stamping and colouring, then a bit of masking over the show girls to create the sunburst background with a stencil. I used a fineline pen to create some grounding.

Stamps:
Show Girls (Lost Coast Designs)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sunshine Yellow)

Other:
Copic markers
Strobes Stencil (Visible Image)
Black fineliner

There's still time to sign up for the April chain if you'd like to make and send a card and receive one in return, it's a friendly challenge with a lovely bunch of crafters.

Thanks for stopping by!

Say it loud

Nat has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and she’d like to see words take centre stage - oversized, mixed fonts, negative die cuts, just choose a way to make the words the focal point of your design. 

I opted for a subtle image in the background with a bold word on top for a card with a masculine feel. I added some grounding with a regular pencil, a few pearl dots and some white highlights on the lettering just to accentuate it a bit more.  

Stamps:
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Champagne Celebration (Crafters Companion)

Paper:
Bristol board

Strathmore toned grey

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Black fineliner
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by!

Box of flowers

The challenge this month over at Let’s Squash It is to make or repurpose a box and use a floral embossing folder. I’ve had this idea in my head since the challenge launched and finally managed to get it made today. 

 

I used a large matchbox (you might know the brand Cook’s Matches if you’re in the UK) as my base. I painted the tray with black acrylic paint and added a ribbon tab pull. This floral folder makes me think of chrysanthemums and to me those needs autumnal shades (they were my mum’s bridal flowers for an autumn wedding) so I rubbed a gold ink pad over the raised areas and brushed on copper, gold and bronze Perfect Pearls. The embossing wasn’t quite wide enough to do the full top and sides of the box but I managed to centre the embossing and I think the flat margins look as if they’re meant to be there along the bottom edges.

Supplies:
Empty match box
Bold Floral embossing folder by Darice
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Copper, Gold, Bronze)
Black cardstock
Ribbon
Small copper brad
Black acrylic paint 

Thanks for stopping by!